Lullaby for a Stormy Night
by Ikuni Hattori
Summary: Riku seems so strong. But once upon a time, he wasn't. He had fears, just like the rest of us. He had been afraid.


So, of course, I was supposed to be sleeping last night, and I knew I had all day today for myself, so I decided to make a little list of what I would do. Was listening to this song, and though, 'Hey, why not?' So I wrote it down.

DISCLAIMER: As of today (July 12th, 2012), I (the author of this fanfiction) only owns Astasia Nojima. I do not own Riku (Who is owned by the collective of Square Enix and Disney) and I do not own this song (Lullaby for a Stormy Night, by Vienna Teng from her 2001 album, Waking Hour).

* * *

Astasia was abruptly woken up by a the sound of thunder resonating throughout their island home. A crack of lightning suddenly followed, with another resounding boom from the accompanying thunder. She flopped her hand in front of her eyes, trying to block out the light. She loved storms. They were great. But when it was three in the morning and she had to get up by six for work, she just couldn't appreciate it disturbing her rest.

There was a lull in the noises, only the steady pounding of the rain against her roof.

She heard crying coming from the hallway. Another crack of lightning, and then a muffled scream. Sighing, Astasia flung the covers off of her and placed her feet on the wooden floor. Padding along silently, she reached her son's room, where muffled sobbing was coming from. She knocked with her knuckles, just a one-two-three tap, and opened the door. She flipped on his light and noticed Riku huddled in his blankets on his bed. She instantly went over to him, and as soon as she sat down, he latched onto her, burrowing his head into her stomach. She wrapped her arms around him and just held him. Another crack of lighting, with it's accompanying boom hit right above the house, and boy in her arms flinched. She only held him tighter.

They stayed like that, just listening to the rain pound against their house, for a few minutes, the lightning and thunder seeming to have gone away. Riku emerged from his blanket cocoon and squirmed his way more properly onto his mother's lap. Astasia sat with her back against the headboard, her six year old son in her arms. Suddenly, another burst of lightning scattered across the sky, lighting up the room, and a boom so deep, it penetrated their bodies with vibrations. The next second, the lights went out. Riku gave an incomprehensible scream.

"_Little child, be not afraid,  
Though rain pounds harshly against the glass  
Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger,  
I am here tonight.  
Little child, be not afraid,  
Though thunder explodes and the lightning flash  
Illuminates your tear-stained face.  
I am here tonight."_

His hysterics were too loud for him to hear her, but as he burrowed deeper into her, he felt the vibrations through her chest. He just wasn't in the mood for listening, just yet.

_ "And someday you'll know,  
The same rain that draws you near me.  
Falls on rivers and land,  
On forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you see  
In the morning."_

Riku looked up at his mother as she sang, and he snuggled closer to her, burrowing into her side. He sat in silence as she sang to him, flinching every time the light grew bright and the noise grew louder.

_ "Little child, be not afraid,  
Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon  
And its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams,  
I am here tonight.  
Little child, be not afraid,  
Though wind makes creatures of our trees  
And their branches to hands, they're not real, understand  
And I am here tonight."_

As the thunder grew louder, so did his mother. Her voice was soft, but was loud enough to be heard above the booms and cracks of the storm. The rain was relentless, and Riku's eyes focused on the shadows the trees outside his window were making every time the light flashed in the sky.

_"And someday you'll know,  
That nature is so,  
The same rain that draws you near me.  
__Falls on rivers and land,  
On forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you see  
In the morning."_

He had never heard this lullaby before. His mama was good at making up songs, right on the spot, but they've never had the need for this song. This one was about storms, and they didn't have storms like this where they had been before they had moved to Destiny Islands. But here, they seemed to have storms almost every week. All of them, so far, had been during the day, so he had never had to worry about waking up to one.

Tonight was the exception.  
_"For you know, once even I  
Was a little child,  
And I was afraid.  
But a gentle someone always came  
To dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears  
And to give a kiss goodnight."_

Riku looked up at his mama, startled. She didn't talk about her childhood much, and never in a lullaby. He let her words wash over him and his eyelids drooped, the thunder losing its intensity, the lightning losing its brightness.

_"Well now I am grown,  
And these years have shown,  
That rain's a part of how life goes.  
But it's dark and it's late,  
So I'll hold you and wait  
'Til your frightened eyes do close."_

He knew he was falling asleep. He didn't notice the thunder much, anymore, or the lightning, and the rain above him was just tapping now, a steady pattern that he could easily lose himself to. Riku pulled the blanket over himself, laying his head in his mama's lap and settling down to drift back into the dream he was having before the storm had woken him up.

_"And I hope that you'll know,  
That nature is so,  
The same rain that draws you near me.  
Falls on rivers and land,  
On forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you see  
In the morning."_

Astasia looked down at her son, running her fingers through his silver hair that he had inherited from his father. She grew wistful, as the words kept pouring out of her mouth, lulling her son back into slumber. What would he have done, had he been here for this storm? Would he have been in bed with her, or would he have already been up for the day? Maybe he would have had something major to work on, and was still up, getting to Riku first and comforting him like only a father could for his son.

"_Everything's fine in the morning,  
The rain will be gone in the morning,  
But I'll still be here in the morning." _

She knew Riku was asleep when he stuck his thumb back in his mouth. Quietly moving him off of her lap, she tucked him back into bed and, placing a kiss upon his brow, she sneaked out of his room, turning the light off in case the electricity came back on, and closed the door with a soft click. She made her way back to her own room, the storm severely subdued above head. Slinking her way back into her bed, she curled up with her body pillow and closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep quickly, thoughts of her missing husband in her head.

Just as she was in the between world of wakefulness and slumber, she could have sworn she felt a hand softly caress her leg, her arm, her face, before a pair of lips kissed her hair.

She couldn't remember any of it in the morning.

* * *

And here it is! Hope you all enjoyed! I'm hoping I have enough story in there to make it more fanfiction than lyrics, or at least I'm hoping so. :)

Reviews fuel my writing, so if you want more, I'll write more! You just gotta let me know! I love you all!


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